Foodie Friday

The perfect breakfast to celebrate my first Sunday off in months.

Happy (Halloween) Weekend!

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Striking a Balance in the East Village

If my friend M were a man, the story of how we met would be the stuff of rom-com legend.  A few years ago, a few days before Christmas, the two of us were strangers who just happening to be waiting for the same train at Penn Station.  As we waited and rolled our eyes at the ridiculously long line, we got to chatting and ended up sitting together once we boarded our train and were on our way to central Pennsylvania.  We were both going home to visit our parents for the holidays and found that we had lots of things that we could talk about and that we were really good travel buddies.  We chatted the entire way to Harrisburg and then parted with a hug and a promise to keep in touch.

After that Christmas, I went back to Boston and M returned to her home at the time of South Africa, and we sort of lost touch except for the occasional facebook comment.  This past summer though, we realized that we were both living in New York and decided that we should reconnect, and I'm so glad that we did, as M is seriously one of the warmest, nicest people that I have ever met.

One day last week, we both had the afternoon off, so we set a lunch date.  She proposed a place called Westville, in the East Village, so we met there and grabbed a table outside to enjoy the unseasonable warm day.

I was feeling a bit run-down, so I started with a delicious almond milk cappuccino to wake me up as we looked over the menu.

Westville prides itself on fresh, simple food, and it claimed to be pretty good with its vegetables...

 M had eaten here before and agreed with that claim, so we both ordered the market plate, which came with your choice of four of the vegetable specials of the day.  We were greeted by two beautiful platters of colorful veggies.

M chose kale, sweet potato fries, bok choy, and beets with walnuts.

I went for brussel sprouts, mashed sweet potatoes, zucchini with tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella, and beets with goat cheese.

The brussel sprouts and the kale were a bit tough for our tastes, but everything else was divine, and my favorite choice was the beets, hands-down.  I wish that more restaurants offered a veggie sampler dish like this.  When you have a plate full of vibrant color and veggies done right, they can taste as good and be as satisfying as any meat dish. 

As M and I were catching up and finishing our veggies, she innocently brought up the fact that she knew of a great little ice cream shop that was just a few blocks away.  Feeling very virtuous in our choice of lunch, we reasoned that dessert couldn't hurt, so we strolled over to Blythe Anne's (formerly Lula's Sweet Apothecary, which in my humble opinion, was a much better name).  A tiny blink-and-you'll miss-it place, Blythe Anne's serves vegan ice cream made from cashew milk and changes its flavor offerings daily.

M is vegan and while I'm not, I'm always up for trying vegan options while remaining skeptical that they'll taste as good as their non-vegan equivalents.  Blythe Anne's was a nice surprise for me, though, in that the ice cream was amazingly flavorful and I honestly couldn't tell by the taste that it was vegan.

I went for the caramel ginger cookie hard ice cream with brownie bits on top.

Upon tasting it, I thought I had made the right decision in that the ice cream tasted exactly like a ginger cookie with caramel and the brownie bits were gooey and chocolatey and wonderful.  However, then I tasted the cake batter soft serve that M had ordered.

This blew mine right out of the park.  It was probably the best and most authentic-tasting cake batter ice cream that I've ever had.  I will definitely be making a return trip just for that flavor. Maybe I'll even order it in a sundae.  Oooh the possibilities. 

But before I get carried away with ice cream fantasizing, I do feel the need to set the record straight.  With the majority of my posts, I'm sure it seems that I mostly eat really indulgent, rich and caloric foods.  I want to dissolve that illusion right now though, and let you know that I do strive to strike a balance and eat really healthfully when I'm not having a treat.  I get a lot of "how do you eat all that stuff and not gain weight?" or "I could never eat like that."  But honestly, you can ---just not all the time.  I don't want to convey the message that you can indulge at every meal and not eat things that are good for your body. A blog is often a "greatest hits" page in the life of its writer and shouldn't be taken as a mirror of everyday life.  You really shouldn't eat cake every day, but having it every now and then is fine and one of the joys of life.  Give your body what it needs for fuel, but also what it wants, in healthy moderation.  Have that bowl of ice cream for dessert if you're craving it, but load up on your nutrient-filled veggies first.

A life without veggies won't be a long one, and a life without ice cream (or cupcakes or potato chips for that matter) isn't a fun one, so don't deny yourself or feel guilty about those indulgences, as long as they're occasional and tempered by frequent healthier choices. 

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Foodie Friday

This week on Foodie Friday:  bruschetta selections from Le Verdure

Oven roasted tomatoes, basil, and arugula pesto topped with parmigiano

 

Sundried tomatoes and basil, perched in a pool of olive oil crema

Happy Weekend!

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Indus Valley

Last week, D texted and asked if I wanted to meet up.  He had a break in his classes and a hankering for Indian food, so we met for lunch in the Upper West Side at Indus Valley. It really never takes any convincing to get me to agree to eat Indian food.....the spices feel exotic yet their complex warmth gives me those feelings of contentment and happiness that the best comfort food always evokes.  After looking at the menu, we quickly agreed that we'd do the lunch special, because for $12.95 we could each get a full course meal.  For our appetizers, D went for the soup of the day...

while I chose the vegetable samosa.

I found it both delightful and hilarious that the samosa looked like a pointy wizard's hat.  D rolled his eyes and told me to just eat it.  These Columbia students are soooo serious.....

It was hot and delicious but D didn't love his soup quite as much.  We then moved on to our entrees.  Chicken tikka masala (the best that I've had in a while. Rich, complex flavor with a nice hint of sweetness) for me....

and goat curry for him (hopefully not these goats).

The special also came with dal, a vegetable of the day, and naan, so between the two of us, we had quite the feast.

We were soon feeling fat and happy.

Our lunch specials also included a choice of dessert, but we had to throw in the towel before we got there because we were so stuffed (pathetic, I know).  

All in all, the lunch special was an excellent deal, and I would highly recommend the samosas and the chicken tikka masala.  The service, however, did leave a little to be desired and was rather slow and disorganized.  But if you don't mind spending a bit more time over lunch, it's a nice little spot to get your Indian food fix.  Just be sure to get there before 3pm, because they close for two hours in the afternoon between serving lunch and dinner.  And I can't say that I blame them.  That time of day makes for wonderful napping.

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Pumpkins, Beer Cheese, and Goats

You may have already heard the news, but if not, you should know that there's been a new addition to my family.  A little over a month ago, a beautiful baby girl, my very first niece, entered the world.  Although it was difficult to wait, I gave her a little time to adjust to her new surroundings, and then, a few weeks ago, I made the trip to Buffalo to visit J and J and meet Baby E.  She was even more beautiful than I had imagined and I have to admit that I'm quite smitten.  J and J and I spent most of the visit cooing and cuddling with her, but on a particularly gorgeous afternoon, we decided to get out of the house and visit Becker Farms, in Gasport, New York.  A 340-acre fruit and vegetable farm, the site offers produce, homemade baked goods, jams, cider and wine, as well as apple picking and other seasonal activities against a beautiful country backdrop. 

 

Almost as soon as we had stepped out of the car, our stomachs started to grumble, so we wandered into the on-site Gastropub (you didn't think this would really be a foodless post, did you?).  

We started by sharing a flight of Becker Brewing Co.'s seasonal beers (including their hard cherry cider, which was our favorite), a flight of local wines, and cheddar beer dip with soft pretzel sticks.

To say that we couldn't get enough of the appetizer would be a bit of an understatement.  Warm Bavarian pretzel rods with a molten cheese made with Art's Amber Ale and Kutter sharp cheddar.

 We all agreed that we should have each ordered our own serving, but alas, we had already chosen our entrees and they soon arrived.

The Smoked Gouda Sausage Burger with waffle-cut sweet potato fries (which, incidentally, also tasted amazing when dipped into the remaining beer cheese):

























The Farm Apple Salad:

and a Build-Your-Own Pizza with garlic-infused olive oil, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, mushrooms, and pineapple.

We shared everything, and while the burger might have been the winner, all of the dishes tasted flavorful and fresh.

Afterwards, we decided that we needed to walk off our lunch so we set off to explore the rest of the grounds.  We didn't get very far though, before we saw a sign for apple cider donuts and unanimously agreed that we would need to take some sweets home with us for later.

After gathering our booty of donuts and pastries that were sort of a cross between a s'more, a pop-tart, and heaven, we truly stopped thinking about food for a few minutes and strolled the picturesque grounds.  

I may have squealed with glee when we came around the corner and saw this autumn tableau:

But don't worry, I kept my cool and blamed the noise on the baby.  They're full of strange gurgles, right?  However, I had a harder time covering up my childlike enthusiasm for the playground equipment that we came across next.

 

That's how it's done, Baby E.  I hope that you've been taking notes.  But if not, I'll be happy to show you again once you've got a handle on that walking thing.

I also may have had to try this one out too.  I mean, who can resist a castle?

 If anyone has been wondering what to get me for Christmas, I would happily take one of these.  It might be a squeeze fitting it into my New York apartment, but you let me worry about that.

We continued on to a strange-looking elevated-walkway-type thing (technical term).

Upon getting a closer look, we realized that it had some goatly inhabitants.

No doubt feeling the draw of his animal magnetism, they approached J and had a meeting of the minds.

Kindred spirits:

When J was finished communing with those beasts, we turned a corner and found some more, slightly fuzzier options.  This time, they were in the form of llamas and alpacas.

These boys were a bit aloof though and not as chatty as the goats so they soon lost interest and turned their backs on us, which we took as our cue to call it a day and head back home, but not before I got in a few more minutes of pumpkin appreciation.

Becker Farms is a lovely place to visit this time of year, whether you have small children or just enjoy being outside during the Fall.  Check out their website for their hours and info on their upcoming Halloween programming or if you're interested in holding an event there.  But, whatever you do, just promise me that you won't leave without trying the cheddar beer dip.

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